1000 Song Challenge – 26/04/09

I love shows like this because even though I rarely know the songs that they’re singing, it really gives you a chance to hear these artist’s raw, authentic voices – and they rarely disappoint. Also you don’t really need subs for them and that’s always a plus. So Suju and Davichi – two of my current faves! – guested on this episode and thankfully, the cuts have already been uploaded by CodeAnalysis on Yt.

IU Update

Here’s her new MV for ‘Boo’.

Okay, yes, the concept and the song are very different from ‘Mia’ and probably not what you were expecting from her (I know I wasn’t) but it really isn’t that bad and we shouldn’t think of it as a step down but instead as her trying out a new style. Honestly, ‘Boo’ really is a very cute, catchy enough song and it’s impossible to hide IU’s impressive vocal ability in a song like this – and look on the bright side, it may be on the cutesy side but at least, they didn’t digitalize her voice or use a ton of synthesizer – and for that, we should always be grateful.

And Now I’ll Be Marrying DongHae Too…

Well you know – if he’ll have me.

What spurred this, you ask? Other than DongHae just being his super cute, fantastic, sensitive, sweet self?

This (subbed) clip from the Star Golden Bell episode that DH, EunHyuk, ShinDong and Kyuhyun (OMG, KYU, YAY!!!!!!!!! Did I mention I love him?) guested on – in the clip, DongHae talks about his dream marriage. Apparently all you’d have to do to make our little fish happy is to kiss him when he wakes up (check!), make a sandwich for him for breakfast (I can make sandwiches – I am a sandwich-making QUEEN), fix his necktie for him before he leaves for work (is he going to start working in an office in the next 8 years? Why’s he wearing a necktie? But whatever, I CAN DO THAT TOO! Ties were a part of my school uniform. ^^) and then kiss him before he leaves the house (yes, because this part would SO be a problem…). So it’s settled then – clearly, I am going to marry DongHae in the next few years. There’s only like a two year age difference between us (he’s older) so yay for that. You never know, it could happen.

It could!

Hmm, funny how just a few hours ago, I was fantasizing about marrying HanGeng. Oh well, whoever will have me – I’m not picky. I think this brings my total up to about ten faux husbands. Aish, at this rate, I’ll end up in jail….

*end fangirling session* Anyway, you guys go check out that video and when you’re done, drop ELSubs a line and let them know how awesome they are for subbing this (and please don’t ask them if they’re going to sub the whole show – if they’re going to, they will; if they won’t, they won’t so just wait and see).

OMG, and Younha! Thank you for having a song that I really like and making up for the disappointment that was 1,2,3. Yes, it’s cute but I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m not much of a fan of her more upbeat stuff, it seems.

Maki

Oh, and please check out Yesung in this cut from Suju’s Come to Play episode. This, right here, is why I love him so much – because really, who does not love a hot dork? I know I do. Yesung oppa, saranghaeyo~ &hearts

Bling’s Birthday Post, Part Deux!

So since it was our lovely Jonghyun-ssi’s birthday recently, I decided to spread some JH love by posting up a few of my personal favourite/must-see videos of him. I already wished him happy birthday in my last post but I also wanted to do something a little different this time around as well so here goes. I hope you’ll check out a few of these if you haven’t already seen them (or even if you have) – there are some really nice ones and um, this is probably going to be all over the place so please bear with me.

Here’s To My Boy…

Ah, so my Jonghyun bb’s birthday has finally arrived – I’ve been looking forward to it for awhile now because we’re officially chingu again (yay!) and even though he said he likes noonas, I don’t really like feeling like a pedo so yay for our mutual 19-ness! I’m a little bit late with this because I just didn’t feel like doing this yesterday when it was his actual birthday (in Korea) but since it’s still the 8th here, I think it’s all right.

Now what can I say about this boy? He’s one of my favourite boys in K-pop and these are a lot of reasons why he ended up claiming that spot – He’s talented, cute, confident ( a little too much sometimes), affectionate, a little crazy, excitable, sensitive, funny, amusing, pushy, loud, honest, determined, dedicated and passionate – and even though he sometimes frustrates me, I’m super protective of him (well, as protective as a fan can be anyway). I fell in love with his voice first and foremost and up to now, every time I hear him sing something new, I remember why he impressed me so much in the first place. But honestly his voice isn’t the only reason I love him – I really think he’s an amazing person and sure, he’s got his flaws but he has so many commendable traits too. I love how devoted and passionate he is about what he’s doing – and not just with regard to singing but about making music too. I have no doubt that he’s doing what he was born to do. He’s a natural born entertainer and is just so confident on and off stage and refreshingly comfortable in front of a camera – although it’s really no wonder considering he’s like the king of selcas. XD

Hmm, I remember being shocked by how mature and charismatic he was on stage and then how fun and childish he was off stage and then after my surprise faded, I grew to love how bouncy and eager he gets when he’s excited and I also came to appreciate that with all that confidence, he still has a large measure of humility and sensitivity too. Sure, he’s aware of how talented he is but I don’t think he’s ever disregarded how much work it must have taken to get him there and I’ll never forget how emotional and overcome he was when SHINee got their first number one on M! Countdown. That’s something else that I really like about him – how many sides he has – one minute, he’s excited and bouncing off the walls and the next, he’s sensitive and quiet and pensive and then he goes on stage and his charisma’s off the charts and it seems like he’s grown by ten years right in front of your eyes. He’s extremely hard-working and dedicated to improving himself but that doesn’t mean he can’t have fun too – anyone who’s watched Yunhanam or any number of SHINee videos can attest to the fact that he always manages to find a way to goof off (especially if Key’s around).

So he’s a lot of things – a camwhore, the king of both expressions and fanservice, funny, sweet, kind, affectionate, playful, childish, shy (at times), a tease, loud and pushy (they go hand-in-hand if you didn’t know), determined, excitable, sensitive, talented and generally just a bundle of fun. He wasn’t my initial favourite in SHINee but he’s definitely claimed that spot now. So saengil chukhamnida, Jong-Hyunnie! Noona (oh wait, no, that doesn’t apply anymore) Well, I just wish you all of God’s richest blessings and I know you’ll go on to accomplish great, fantastic, wonderful, amazing things this year. I hope you get closer to the other members, hopefully get to see your family every once in awhile, stay in touch with your friends and just grow, improve, learn, become even better and keep blowing us all away. You’ll always have my support, babe. Happy Birthday. ♥

What I’m Listening To…

So while I work on Jonghyun’s birthday post – whoo, saengil chukhahae, my little 4D boy! – I’d like to share with you a song that I’m really feeling right now. It’s from Navi’s second single – the title song, ‘Heart Damage’ features Crown J but I really prefer the second song on the album entitled ‘Gireseo’ (On The Road) – it’s beautiful and her voice is so piercing and soulful here that it can’t help but make an impression.

credit: RinZzzanie

I hope you enjoy it.

Maki

Sorry, Sorry Performances, FTW!

Okay, it is official – I love Suju’s ‘Sorry, Sorry’ performances. Really. I feel about them the way I felt about SHINee’s LLO performances and DBSK’s ‘Wrong Number’ performances and I just can’t get enough of them. They’re all really, really good! (Ok, well, not all but most of them are.) And today’s was no different – I always say that the best performances happen on Inkigayo. There were so many good points but I’ll just try to list the highlights for you.

S.O.S.

So I’m sure if you’re a BOF fan, you’ve probably already heard about this but SHINee has a new song titled ‘Bodyguard’ which is being used as the promotional song for the new AnyCall cell phone campaign featuring one of the popular BOF couples, GaEul and YiJung (played by Kim SoEun and Kim Bum respectively). The MV for the campaign itself is really adorable and funny even for someone like me who never got far enough into the show to see their romantic storyline begin. Actually I was kind of shocked while watching the MV at how harsh YiJung was to her at times – but I guess that’s his cool, playboy facade at work? It only took away from the cuteness by a little bit anyway. And Boom! I don’t know if he’s just a comedian or an MC but I’ve seen him in a few things and he’s always really funny and here is no different. I really like how Kim Bum beats him and his ‘thugs’, by the way – with a kendo stick that pops out of nowhere. It’s funny~

As for the song, it’s very youthful and sweet and it has a really light and breezy sound and it’s definitely got more of a pop-py sound than any of SHINee’s other songs. I didn’t like it at first listen because it reminded me too much of ‘Stand By Me’ which I also disliked at first but it grew on me the more I heard it (just like ‘Stand By Me’) and after watching it coupled with the video, I think it’s very fitting for the campaign – the light, youthful sound is the perfect accompaniment for SoEul’s little, semi-romantic love story. I’m really glad the boys got a chance to do this because even though it’s not their campaign per se, with the popularity of Kkot Boda Namja and the So-Eul couple in particular, I think they’ll still get a good bit of exposure from it. And well, it’s just really nice to hear something fresh from the boys since I kind of killed my SHINee World cd. Ah, I really can’t wait for the new releases. Oh, and a little heads up – Yesasia’s having a big sale for the entire month of April and one of the discounted items is SHINee’s first mini-album so now’s the time to get it, people! You can bet your bottom dollar I’ll finally be getting mine. ^_^

Also I’m not sure if you know but Key went to Nanjing, China this week-end to perform with his sunbae and labelmate, Xiah Junsu (lol, I’m writing so formally about my Su) at DBSK’s Mirotic Concert and I am pleased to announce THAT HE CUT HIS HAIR. Yay! LOL, I know it’s silly to be happy about such a little thing but he really needed it. Now he looks a lot like he did in the Replay days – ah, so sweet and innocent and young – and it makes me blissfully nostalgic. ^^ Pictures to clarify. credit: Soompi

A Short Note

So….Suju did not get number 1 on MuBank this week. But that’s okay – because Davichi did, and they’re incredible and totally deserve it just as much as Suju does. (Remember, remember, in my last post about this where I was talking about Davichi being awesome? Yeah? …..No, you don’t remember) But anyway, the point I want to make though is that just because Suju did get number 1 this week and did not get number one the first week after their comeback does not mean that E.L.F. have abandoned them or are not supporting them or anything like that. I mean, I’m not in S.Korea right now so I can’t say for sure but I really don’t think E.L.F. have let go of their precious oppa-deul, okay? And well, as for why Suju’s not winning, I believe it has something to do with the fact that the K-chart is mainly based on digital sales and while Suju have really high album sales, their digital sales aren’t as high – Davichi on the other hand, have really good digital sales but not so high album sales. You follow me?

Anyway, I’m just tired of seeing comments like “oh, where are E.L.F.? I thought there were so many of them and that they really loved Suju – then where are they? Why aren’t they keeping them on top?” Now I never thought the day would come where I’d be defending E.L.F. BUT I don’t think those are really fair statements to make. I mean, I don’t totally understand how the K-Chart ranking system works and I’ve never been one to follow artist’s album/digital sales to see how well they’re doing because most of the time I don’t really care to check out that stuff so I can’t be totally accurate and I’m not saying that E.L.F. don’t have a lot to do with how well Suju does on the music show charts and whatnot but I don’t think it’s right to assume that they’re being unsupportive or abandoning Suju or anything. I just really don’t think that’s the case here. So – don’t think that, okay?

Anyway, yay Davichi! Congrats! And happy birthday to Suju’s EunHyuk! I wish him great health and more success and happiness and all God’s blessings. Have a happy day, HyukJae! (And eat more, please – you’re so skinny, omg. T_T)

Maki

Good Ole Americana

So this is a little unusual for me but I decided to something different and recommend to you an American artist that I’m growing to be pretty fond of. She’s a new artist – new in the sense that she isn’t particularly well known as of yet in the States and she was only recently signed to a label – but she’s already released her first studio album, which I bought a few days ago – her name is Erin McCarley and her album, ‘Love Save The Empty’ is titled after one of the songs on the album.

edit: Oh, the official video for ‘Love Save The Empty’ was uploaded to Erin’s Youtube channel today and it’s also already on VH1’s Top 20 Countdown (number 18) so go vote for it, okay?